Lycan
Lycans are a second breed of Werewolves created in the 11th century, descended from William Corvinus's Werewolf bloodline. Once normal humans who were infected by the first born Lycan or another of his victims, they are unlike the first breed in retaining their human intelligence and personalities while transformed and taking human form. In this article, "Werewolf" will be used to refer to both Werewolves and Lycans collectively (except where otherwise noted), for when both generations need mentioning at the same time. Notable Features In the ''Underworld'' franchise, Lycans and Werewolves are biologically immortal transgenics, as opposed to supernaturally immortal demons of pop culture. However, as in pop culture, the Lycans in the Underworld franchise are also carnivores, meaning that they feed on meat. They have even been shown to be somewhat cannibalistic, as they will feed off of humans and Vampires, despite the close relation they bear to both species. In the novelizations, the Lycans are warm-blooded and have high body temperatures. The novelizations also state that Lycans, in their Werewolf form, are colorblind. In their novelized Werewolf forms, Lycans foam at the mouths, much like a rabid animal. They also do not appear to have whiskers. Unlike their 1st generation Werewolf predecessors, if Lycans die in their Werewolf form, they revert to their human forms. In all aspects of the Underworld franchise, Lycans are depicted as being highly allergic to silver. In the novelization of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, their eyes are also shown to be sensitive to any glare of light off of a silver surface. In the films, Lycans' eyes are shown to change into a cloudy deep blue when they are partially transformed. In the novelizations, their eyes are described as changing into a solid cobalt blue, the same as the original Werewolves. In Underworld: Endless War, they are shown to turn a feral yellow. In Underworld: Awakening, they are all shown with solid black eyes, similar to the Hybrid forms of Michael Corvin and Marcus Corvinus. This may have been either a production goof, or these individuals had been given some of Antigen's so-called "antidote". As with all Immortals, Lycans become stronger and more powerful with age, both physically and socially. Other factors can also effect their strength; such as feeding. A well-fed Lycan will recover faster than a Lycan who has not fed for some time. Lycans who regularly over-indulge will usually take mere moments to recover depending on the severity of the wounds. In contrast to Lycans who are turned, Lycans who are born, rather than becoming weaker with every generation, actually inherit the total sum of the strengths of both parents' Lycanthropy strains, and thus become stronger generation-wise. Powers & Abilities Lycans display inhuman physical strength, speed, reflexes, endurance and agility. These traits seem to apply to Lycans even when in human form, as Lucian was seen to be able to catch up to a moving car, and subsequently survive being hit by it head on. It is very likely that they can enter a state of hibernation and survive without food or water for centuries. They possess enhanced senses of smell, hearing and sight that are superior even to those of wolves, not just humans, and are also able to sense Vampires in close proximity to themselves. It should be noted that when in their Werewolf forms they are stronger than when in human form, able to break through solid concrete walls, and seem to be stronger than most Vampires, as every hand-to-hand confrontation between the two races under normal circumstances has ended with a Lycan victory, the one exception being the Vampire Elder Viktor. Lycans can also use their claws and strength to scale sheer surfaces, having been seen to crawl along walls at great speed in pursuit of prey. They possess the ability to land on their feet when falling from above, as evidenced by both Lucian and Michael Corvin. .]] Lycans also possess superb physical resilience and remarkable regenerative abilities: both Lucian and Raze are wounded by silver bullets and Selene's shurikens respectively, yet they bear no marks or scars when they reappear later. Their recovery abilities are hampered by the presence of silver in their bodies. However, to older Lycans, the silver is rarely fatal. Lucian displays the ability to force Selene's silver bullets out of his body through muscle strength, although it is mentioned in the first film that the silver is fatal if it penetrates the internal organs. Silver is the Lycans' only weakness, as they seem to be violently allergic to it. A new variation on this is the use of silver nitrate bullets to inject the silver directly into a Lycan's bloodstream. In ''Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, a wild Werewolf dies after taking two shurikens with silver blades from Sonja in the chest, whereas Raze not only survives four silver shurikens thrown by Selene but continues to walk in his human form with the shurikens stuck in his chest for quite some time in Underworld. This may imply that Lycans possess greater resilience and healing abilities against silver than their Werewolf predecessors, or it could be due to more exposure and acquired resistance to silver. They can go out during the daylight but they seem to be stronger during the night, especially as they can only change during the full moon until they become strong enough to transform at will. Although originally Lycans could only transform at the full moon, it is explained that the older a Lycan becomes in age, the more control they can exert over their transformation, to the point that they can change at will, possessing full mental control of their wolf form. In their wolf form, Lycans also have access to powerful jaws and razor-sharp fangs and claws, making them deadly close-quarters combatants. Generations Lucian, First of a New Breed Lucian was born to an unknown captive Werewolf. Born in human form, Lucian's Vampire owner Viktor initially intended to slay the infant, but decided against it when he saw in Lucian the possibility of creating a new race of slaves - a new breed of Werewolf (Lycans). Viktor slew Lucian's mother and had him branded with Viktor's mark, then raised him as his own personal "pet". Lucian rose to become the Lycan ruler under Viktor's command. Though most likely physically weaker than first generation Werewolves, Lucian possesses abilities superior to any descended from himself and can transform at will, unlike William Corvinus and his first generation Werewolves. Although he used his Werewolf form to great extent in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, unlike the other Lycans seen in Underworld, Lucian never transforms while engaged in combat, instead using such technology as wrist-mounted blades to engage his enemies. Despite this, by the time of Underworld, he is shown to possess an ability never seen in other Lycans: when he is shot with silver bullets, he is able to expel them from his body by forcing the transformation. He first expels silver from his body after Viktor kills his lover, Sonja; in a rage, Lucian expels silver bolts that were meant to prevent his transformation to lupine form. Although other Lycans die immediately after being shot with silver nitrate rounds, which release fatal amounts of silver directly into a Lycan's blood stream, Lucian survives for several minutes, long enough to convince Selene to infect Michael Corvin with Vampirism. Theoretically, Lucian has developed a resistance to silver over the centuries due to living through greater exposure than his compatriots, similar to how humans can develop a tolerance to arsenic over time. Lucian, like William, fits into neither the first nor second generation of Werewolves. But given that he is a unique specimen, he doesn't warrant his own generation because he is the only known one to have lived. It is theorized that Lucian was born human and is able to transform back to human form because his mother was already pregnant with him when she was turned, so he did not inherit the full Werewolf gene, only half. 2nd Generation: Lycans These are modern Werewolves descended from Lucian. Being born human and less animalistic than the first generation, Viktor forced Lucian to propagate more of this type. The form of virus carried by Lucian was spread to humans, creating a large group of Lycans capable of taking both human and wolfen form. Due to their scent, first generation Werewolves seem to recognize them as their kin rather than human beings, even when in human form. They are able to transform back to their human forms, and change into Werewolf forms when the moon is full. Those who have been Lycans for several centuries have learned to transform at will regardless of the moon, as they have learned to channel their rage. They resemble first generation Werewolves, but their faces are shorter, and the least wolf-like in appearance. They also have far less fur than the earlier Werewolves. They are mostly hairless, aside from a thin mane of fur running down the center of their backs, with the exception of Lucian, who has the same amount of fur that first generation Werewolves sport. Diseased Lycans This type of Lycan is a different class rather than a different generation or breed. They appear in Underworld: Awakening. They are notably skinnier than their predecessors due to continuous starvation. Unlike other Lycans and first generation Werewolves, these Lycans appear completely hairless in their Lycan forms. Despite their apparent physical deterioration, they are shown leaping, running fast and agile enough to catch a moving van. Trivia * The word "Lycan" is derived from the word "Lycanthrope", meaning someone who suffers from Lycanthropy; "the professed ability or power of a human being to transform into a wolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics". * Generation-wise, the further one is from William, the source, the weaker a Lycan's Lycanthropy strain becomes. The same is true of Vampires. * In all incarnations of the franchise, a group of Lycans is called a "Pack", or a "Clan". The Leader of a Lycan Pack or Clan is called an "Alpha". * According to the first installment, when a Lycan transforms into their Werewolf form, it is referred to as "the Change". Whenever a Lycan has been shot with silver, it prevents them from making the Change. During their enslavement by the Vampires, Lycans were outfited with "Moon Collars", with silver spikes on the inside to prevent them from making the Change during the full moon. * Only small fractions of the human population can be turned into Lycans, as most humans die from infection of the Lycan virus. * Despite their immortality and regenerative abilities, Lycans can die from severe physical trauma without silver, such as decapitation, or destruction of the heart. Michael Corvin and Eve have killed Lycans or Werewolves by tearing out the lower jaw, breaking the neck, ripping apart their heads, and claw-punching through the chest from the back. * It is likely that Vampire bites can induce deadly infection to Lycans and vice versa, as the viral strains of each species are incompatible and destroy each other at the cellular level. However, it is unknown why Selene was able to feed off of Michael Corvin's blood when she infected him with her Vampirism strain to save his life. * According to bonus features that come with the DVD & Blu-Ray release of Underworld, director Len Wiseman requested that the Lycans be depicted with less hair because he wanted to show them off with muscular builds under all the hair. In the following installments, he changed his mind and thought that more hair and fur was a better look. * In the first three movies, the Lycans are portrayed by actors in animated costumes. In Awakening, most of the Lycan scenes are entirely computer-generated. Gallery Lucianlycanform.jpg|Lucian in his Lycan form. lycans.jpg|Concept art of a Lycan. Drygoi mir3.jpg|Quint Lane's Hybridized Lycan form. Dkinny.jpg|Weakened Lycans. lowlycan.jpg|Low Lycans. Endlesswar2.jpg|A Lycan in Underworld: Endless War. Dsvcsdcv.jpg|A Lycan in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Category:Lycan Category:Species